Flatmates
by justblossom
Summary: Modern AU where everybody lives & everybody is happy (except for Hisoka, who is in jail somewhere far away). Kurapika and Leorio are university students-turned-reluctant flatmates, and Gon and Killua are two kiddos without a home whom they halfway adopt. Featuring family fluff and happiness. Lots of Mama!Kurapika and Dad!Leorio. Gen.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I started the first drabbles that grew into this fic well over a year ago, but only finished and put it all together for the Hunter x Hunter Big Bang 2017 over on tumblr. Plus, through the HxHBB, I received some wonderful art for this fic which y'all can find by heading on over to the tumblr hxhbb17. My username there is justablossom.

The fic will be about 8 chapters in total, all of which are finished. I'm just planning to do a final edit before posting, so expect updates every few days. Enjoy!

 **Prelude**

Kurapika sipped at his morning glass of orange juice and looked across the table at no one. He flipped open a newspaper with one hand, skimmed over the crime section and then pushed it away with a sigh. His gaze fell on the hairline cracks tracing the wall across from him, then shifted to the matching scars that covered the tabletop like webs.

Spiderwebs.

A moment passed. Eventually, he managed to relax his clenched fist and inhale deeply. The room was too silent— there was too much space to think… and Kurapika hated to be left alone with only his treacherous thoughts for company.

He pushed away from the table, snatched his book bag from the kitchenette's counter, and was out the door and inside the apartment building's dank and dim staircase within moments.

The apartment had seemed like a good idea when he'd first moved— a decent price, lots of room for one occupant (even if said room could use some tidying), and an excellent location (a mere twenty minute's walk to the university campus). However, it was on mornings like these that he had second thoughts.

Mornings when he had only the wall to stare at across the table, and everywhere he looked there was something to remind him of them.

The only solution was to get out and get his mind going on some other thread— his usual routine was a trip to the campus library, where he could study and read and fill up his brain with lots of colourful, loud, distracting thoughts— and watch the other students chat, and get coffee together, and smile at each other the way he couldn't anymore.

When he reached the library it was just past six in the morning. He claimed a table and sat down, prepared for a long morning with only himself and his books for company.

—

It wasn't that Gon didn't like school… well, okay, maybe it was that after all. But first things first, school didn't like Gon. School gave him headaches and melted brain cells and smoke pouring out of his ears. So it was only natural that he'd have some unpleasant feelings towards it, too.

But this school was different. For one thing, everyone here was much older than him— scarf-wearing twenty-somethings holding a coffee in one hand and a textbook in the other. For another, they didn't have to wear uniforms— and there was no hall monitor glaring at them from the corners, no Aunt Mito breathing down their necks to get their homework done on time— there was basically no supervision, and Gon had found that as long as he didn't stay in one person's line of sight for too long, no one tried to kick him out. He had free rein of the place. Even though he wasn't a student…

The real reason this school was special, the real reason he was here— it wasn't for the experience or the atmosphere. Gon had a mission: find Ging Freecss. And what better place to start than his father's old university?

He'd been here ten days now, but still hadn't found a single clue. Not that such a thing would in any way weaken his resolve— he knew there must be something, and he'd find it eventually. Today, he planned to talk to all the professors; surely one of them would remember teaching Ging. But the first classes didn't even start until 8:00 am, and— Gon looked at the clock mounted outside the library: 6:05 am. He shouldered his backpack.

In the meantime, he'd make a new friend.

Gon was sure he'd be able to, even if he hadn't had much experience with it. Back on Whale Island, he'd been friends with pretty much everybody. There weren't any other kids his age, so he'd settled for listening to the older crowd's stories and playing games with the little ones— he'd never set out to make friends but it just happened, as fast as blinking. Somehow through the talking and tussling and laughing and listening he and the others had just… clicked.

There were times when he wished for a friend his own age, who possessed both the energy of a young person (so they could keep up with him), and an older person's intelligence, so they wouldn't be stuck playing kiddy games all the time.

So when he saw the blond-haired youth bent over a book at an otherwise empty library table, he seized the chance.

This guy looked pretty young, at least for university. Still several years older than Gon, but he wasn't picky. Plus, the guy looked lonely, if Gon's sharp eyes judged him correctly. There were bags under his eyes, and even though his hair was brushed straight and his shirt tucked in neatly he looked disarrayed somehow— in a way that reminded Gon of Aunt Mito when he'd gone out for a week long camping trip by himself when Granny was off visiting relatives on the mainland. When he'd returned, she looked prim and proper and greeted him with a smile but the small details of her expression were off, the creases in the corners of her eyes were crooked— and he knew she'd been lonely in the house by herself.

He plopped down across the table with an exuberant, "Hi, I'm Gon Freecss! What's your name?"

—

Kurapika wasn't sure how exactly he'd started to hate the black-haired, glasses-wearing man who stood opposite him.

After all, how can you hate someone you barely know?

They had one class together— one— and even then they sat on opposite sides of the lecture hall. They'd never even had a conversation before— well, aside from this one, which was rapidly increasing the already unpleasant emotions Kurapika was feeling towards his classmate with every word spoken.

It had started as an innocent discussion with their chemistry professor.

"I'd like to commend both of you for your excellent results in my class so far," Professor Hitchens said, deep voice mellow, finger and thumb tracing his silvering mustache.

The black-haired man had looked a bit overly pleased with himself, but Kurapika withheld judgement— until Professor Hitchens inquired as to why they'd enrolled in their programs of choice.

"I'll be raking in the cash as a doctor," the man said. "It's as simple as that."

 _Yes, you really are simple_ , thought Kurapika, forgetting his earlier determination to withhold judgement. Sometimes he really could not comprehend the base motivations of other people— or perhaps he just did not want to comprehend them. Because if you really thought about it, wasn't his motivation just as depraved? Sure, greed was despicable… but the extreme desire for vengeance was just as contemptible, by anyone's ruling.

He was so wrapped up in this conundrum of personal ethics that he forgot to gloss over his own reason for taking the program, and blurted it out in Professor Hitchens and the black-haired man's faces. Hitchens eyes widened momentarily— then he coughed, slight and faked. He muttered some nonsense ("Ah, I see… Very understandable, very, indeed") before hurrying off to his next class, leaving behind a Kurapika who wished he could pluck the damning words out of the air and wipe the dubious look right off of the black-haired man's face.

"Let me get this straight… your dream is to become a criminology specialist so you can track down these mafia dudes who killed your family?" He snorted. "Is that a joke? 'Cause it sounds like this lame B-movie that my—"

"Shut your mouth." Kurapika remained completely still, but his eyes spoke more violent intent than any body language. The man flinched backward reflexively, then seemed to gather himself.

"Is that how you normally treat people you've just met?"

"Only the imbecilic ones."

A beat. The man raised an eyebrow. The look on his face screamed "I'm-so-superior-to-you-and-I-know-it". Kurapika struggled to keep his hands relaxed at his sides.

"I didn't set out to offend you—" the man began.

"Then take it back."

"What?"

"Take back what you said about my family. About me. Comparing it to some stupid movie—" Now his fists really did clench, and his jaw too. "You really are an obnoxious loudmouth."

There was another pause, during which Kurapika swore a vein in the man's forehead bulged.

"Why you little— try showing some respect to an upperclassman!"

"I'll only respect those who deserve it." Kurapika crossed his arms and turned his back on the man, who was now quivering with irritation.

It was too late now to regret his rudeness— the moment he'd spilled his real reasons for being here, the moment that man had scoffed at them— well, it was settled. Whatever that guy's name was, he was a miserable, loathsome cretin and Kurapika did not need anything more to do with him. Ever.

So it was more than a little awkward when they found themselves face to face by the south side balcony the very next day.

They stood there. Stared. The man looked like he was about to say something— so Kurapika figured he'd better leave before it came to that. He had just spun around on his heel when something small and green came barrelling into his stomach.

"Uff—" He blinked, and found himself staring down into the smiling, round-eyed face of a young boy— the same boy he'd met hanging around the library while he studied during the early morning a few days ago.

"Kurapika, hi!" Gon said excitedly. His eyebrows contracted briefly as he registered the fact that he'd just run into someone. "Oh, sorry!" He didn't wait for his apology to be accepted, just tugged on Kurapika's arm and pulled him back around, towards the black-haired man and the balcony's edge.

"Come on, look over here, I wanna show you something!" Just as he'd successfully dragged Kurapika to the railing, he glanced over at the black-haired man— and his eyes lit up.

"Leorio!" he exclaimed, and Kurapika felt like he'd swallowed lead.

So that was the man's name— and apparently Gon had befriended him, too? How was that possible— for such a jerk—

While he seethed inside, Gon led Leorio to Kurapika's side, seemingly oblivious to the simmering tension between the two of them. His attention was captured by the maple tree standing tall just past the edge of the balcony. A few long-reaching branches brushed against the railing, and the way Gon was looking at them had Kurapika beginning to worry; he had heard the story of a stupid freshman who'd tried climbing down this very tree and ended up with a broken arm and academic probation for his trouble. Could Gon be planning something of that foolish nature?

"Gon—" he began, but the boy interrupted.

"Look at that! Isn't it cool?"

It took him a moment to figure out what exactly Gon was referring to, but then he saw it— or rather, them. Three baby birds and a blue-shelled egg cooped together in a makeshift nest. They were nestled in the crook of a branch about two metres out from the railing.

"What species of bird are they?" Leorio asked, adjusting his glasses and leaning forward.

"Robins," chirped Gon, before Kurapika could provide a scathing answer. "They're prob'ly about a week old— you can tell 'cause they haven't fledged yet."

Leorio opened his mouth— probably to ask what fledging was— when Gon cried out. In the next second, faster than you could blink, the small boy had heaved himself on top of the railing and pushed off into the open air.

Kurapika wasn't sure who reacted first, or whether they'd both lunged forward at the same time— the next thing he was aware of was clutching Gon's left ankle, heart stuttering frantically in his chest, and noticing, from the corner of his eye, Leorio at his side, holding on to the kid's other leg.

They didn't speak, just hauled him back over the balcony railing and deposited him on solid ground. There was a moment where the three of them just stood there, staring at each other, and then Kurapika gave up on trying to maintain his calm and exploded.

"What on earth did you think you were doing— were you trying to get yourself killed?"

To his surprise, Leorio was right behind him. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do, kid. If we hadn't caught you—"

Gon seemed strangely unperturbed. He smiled and raised cupped hands up for their inspection. "But you did catch me... and I caught him, too." The little robin perched on his palms gave a small chirp— perhaps in agreement.

It was hard to stay furious when you were being looked at like that by _two_ wide and blinking pairs of baby-eyes. Kurapika's anger melted away into relief and then to a touch of humour. He nearly began to chuckle— but Leorio interrupted.

"You risked your life for a bird?!" the man demanded, aghast.

"Well, he was falling," Gon protested.

"Birds can fly!"

"Not when they haven't fledged yet!"

"Whatever this fletching thing is, I don't care. As a med student I can tell you for certain that humans can't fly, and that's—"

Gon was beaming so brightly and Leorio's expression narrowed almost comically in scolding anger that Kurapika couldn't contain his laugh any longer. When Leorio shot him a look, he kept the smile.

"Leorio…" he said. "I'd like to apologize for my rudeness earlier."

Leorio looked momentarily startled, then rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment. "No need. What I said was… out of line. I'm sorry too."

"It's fine."

Gon was looking back and forth at them with an ever-widening grin. "I'm glad," he said simply. "We're all friends now!"

It seemed a little sudden— it had been so long since Kurapika had even thought about that word, "friend", much less heard it out loud. But— just for a moment— he could forget the feeling of sitting alone, isolated, spiderwebs lurking in the back of his mind.

"Yes," he said, and the smile didn't leave his face.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: It's a short chap this time. Also I forgot to mention: this fic doesn't follow the show very closely. Most of it is random fluffy drabbles taking part in the same AU. Just so we're all on the same page. Enjoy!

 **Flatmates**

Having friends was an interesting experience for Kurapika, mainly because he had been out of practice for several years. Still, he didn't mind it… had to admit he rather liked it, actually. Leorio might've been a bit of an idiot but he knew his stuff in biochem— and studying together really did help the information sink in. And besides that, sometimes it was nice to not always sit alone.

The more time he spent with Leorio, the more he realized that he was actually a nice guy, and the motivations he had shared with Professor Hitchens were more than likely just a bluff. Kurapika wished he could say the same for his own.

Because Leorio may have been easily irritable, impatient, a tad idiotic on more than one occasion— but all these vices stemmed from the indisputable fact that he cared.

It was also pretty obvious from the way he worried about Gon (almost as much as Kurapika did).

"When he's not hanging around with us, what is he doing?" Leorio asked. They were at the library together, researching for an organic chem paper, even though it was already nearly ten o'clock at night.

"I don't know."

"He obviously isn't going to school… what grade do you think he'd be in, five? Maybe six? There's no way he's allowed to… to just skip like this. What about his parents, why aren't they doing anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't have parents."

Leorio looked across at him, surprised. Then he paused, a frown settling over his features. "It's definitely possible," he allowed. "But even so, there's got to be someone looking out for him."

"I hope so," Kurapika said. But from the look Leorio shot him, he knew he'd sounded more dubious than hopeful.

—

The next time Leorio brought it up, they were walking out of a midterm exam. Kurapika was confident in his results, but could tell his friend was less so— and was expecting some sort of a rant or attempt to commiserate on Leorio's part. The man's expression was drawn as though he were thinking hard about something.

"I think we're the ones who should look out for him."

Kurapika blinked, unsure that he'd heard correctly. "You think we should what…?"

"Look out for Gon, I mean! He doesn't seem to have anyone else. We could at least offer him a place to stay the night, or…"

"You think he's homeless?"

"Do you think he's got a home?" Leorio shot back.

Kurapika didn't have a concrete answer to that.

"Well, I'd like to— I mean, I wish I could offer him a— it's just, my place is a little… cramped."

Kurapika's eyebrows raised despite himself. "You practically live in the red-light district! Not to mention your room is more like a dingy closet. There's no way I'd let Gon stay there, not even for five minutes!"

Leorio eyed him dryly. "Glad it's still okay for me to live in such wretched conditions."

Well. "About that…" Kurapika hesitated. He'd already given it lots of consideration, but… there was no going back once he put the offer out there. Was this really a wise decision after all?

"Anyway, Kurapika," Leorio continued, oblivious to his inner turmoil, "I don't want to pressure you or anything, but I mean, if you're willing— and I get the feeling you worry about Gon an awful lot too, so…"

"Ah, yes, of course," Kurapika said distractedly. "I'll invite Gon to stay with me."

"Oh, you will? Great! You were looking so conflicted there I thought maybe it wasn't gonna work out, but hey—"

"Leorio." This was the opportune moment. He had to say it. He had to— "There's quite a lot of room in my apartment, actually. And I've been thinking about finding a flatmate— for the purposes of splitting the rent, of course. So I've been thinking— and then, with Gon staying there too, I'm sure you'd prefer being able to keep a closer eye on him."

He kept his gaze on the city skyline as they continued down the sidewalk. Leorio had yet to make a sound.

"It's not exactly the fanciest place, but it'd definitely be an improvement from where you're staying now. And it's only a twenty-minute walk to campus…" Unease was building in the pit of his stomach. Maybe this had been a mistake; it was unlike Leorio to keep his mouth shut for so long. "It's only a suggestion, you don't have to feel any sort of pressure. I just—"

"Wait, Kurapika." Leorio bumped him on the shoulder. His voice was tinged with incredulity. "Are you asking me to share an apartment with you?"

Finally Kurapika turned his head to look at him. "Well, yes. Isn't it fairly obvious?"

"Man, you sure have a round-about way of saying things. Jeez. Well, it sounds good to me. When do I move in?"

Kurapika stopped and stared. "That was a quick decision."

"Well, yeah. Not everyone deliberates as much as you do over everything."

"Thanks," Kurapika said drily.

"Don't mention it." Leorio grinned. "Wow, I can't wait to move out of that dump— what'd you call it again? a 'dingy closet' or something?" He chuckled loudly. "Man, this is gonna be great. I'm glad you asked, Kurapika."

But as Leorio pounded him on the back, Kurapika was beginning to wonder…

 _What exactly have I gotten myself into?_

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Check out ablueicecream on tumblr to see the adorable art they did for this chap!

 **Killua**

It was an odd feeling, the three of them laughing and chatting as they trudged up the apartment building's staircase (the elevator was broken again), arms laden with grocery bags, Kurapika struggling to balance his load while fitting the right key into the door, Gon holding far more weight than Kurapika figured a boy his age and size should be able to.

As they filed into the apartment, somehow the conversation turned to Gon's origins, and to Kurapika's surprise— and at the same time, not— Gon was hardly reticent about the subject. He cheerily described his childhood home and his reasons for travelling to the city on his own.

"But your aunt," Leorio demanded, in the process of transferring a load of vegetables to the near-empty fridge, "is she really okay with you wandering around by yourself like this? She sounds like a nice lady, but—"

"I'm not by myself, I'm with you guys," Gon pointed out. He grinned sunnily, then hoisted himself onto the counter to assist with filling the cupboards. "Well, Aunt Mito sent me to stay with her friend Mrs. Peterson in the city. But Mrs. Peterson isn't around a lot 'cause she has to go to a lotta conferences or something for her job, and a few weeks ago she got an offer to go to New York for half a year, and I told her she should go and not worry about me, and I was gonna tell Aunt Mito about it but then I started staying with you guys instead."

Kurapika turned from where he'd been chopping carrots by the stovetop. "Gon… don't you think you should let your aunt know where exactly you're staying? What if she tries to call you at Mrs. Peterson's and you're not there?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. The phone lines have been down on Whale Island since the last big storm. And Aunt Mito doesn't even know how to use a computer."

"What?! But isn't there any way for her to contact you?! What kind of a guardian is she?" Leorio closed the fridge door a tad aggressively, turning towards Gon.

The boy frowned. "You shouldn't say anything bad about Aunt Mito, Leorio," he reprimanded. "She's the best. It's just that she likes to do things a bit more old-fashioned than other people. We've been writing letters to each other."

"Letters?!"

Kurapika would've smirked at Leorio's flabbergasted expression if he weren't feeling just as shocked himself. "That's hardly an… efficient method," he observed.

Gon perched on the countertop, swinging his legs. "I know. But it's fine. I just wrote her one a couple days ago— about how I'm staying with you guys now, and it's super fun! She'll definitely get it in a few weeks, so you don't have to worry."

Neither Kurapika nor Leorio had a ready response for that.

"Oh!" Gon continued. "I was wondering, Kurapika… I made a new friend, he's super cool, do you think I could invite him over for dinner sometime? I'll help make it and everything!"

 _A new friend?_ From what Kurapika could discern, Gon might consider anyone his friend, from a back-alley drug dealer to the old lady running the convenience store down the road.

"Well…" he began.

"Hey, Gon, how come you never ask me for permission about anything?" Leorio interrupted. "I'm just as much of an adult as Kurapika is!"

"That's debatable," Kurapika deadpanned, earning a glare.

Gon just shrugged helplessly. "Um… I can ask you too if you want. Leorio, can I invite my friend over?"

"Well, first off, we need to find out who exactly this 'friend' is and what he does for a living!" Leorio settled into his self-appointed task with characteristic aplomb.

"Well…" Gon tapped a finger to his chin. "His name's Killua and he knows how to ride a skateboard! Oh, and he's twelve just like me so I don't think he really does anything for a living yet… even though his parents want him to take over the family business, but he doesn't want to! So that's why he ran away from home."

"Ah, I s— wait, what? He ran away from home?"

"Yeah! Only you better not tell anyone, he really doesn't want them to find him."

"What is he, some sort of teenage rebel? Runaway, skateboards, kids these days…" Leorio's complaints trailed off into an indiscernible grumble.

"He's only twelve, Leorio," Kurapika said. A runaway kid with a skateboard was hardly cause for concern when you considered who else Gon might've wanted to bring home. "Go ahead and invite him, Gon."

"Thanks, Kurapika!" Gon scampered out of the kitchen, Leorio at his heels.

"Where d'you think you're going right now?"

"To find Killua!"

"Wh— already? And you do realize you never actually _did_ ask for my permission, you know."

"Oh, right. Well, can I—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Do what you want."

"Thanks, Leorio!" The door was closed enthusiastically. Kurapika could hear Leorio's sigh from where he still stood in the kitchen.

The man wandered back in, slouching. "Well, looks like we're gonna have company tonight, so I hope you're making something good."

Kurapika's eyebrows narrowed. "Since you're such a responsible adult, Leorio, I figured you'd be happy to help out with dinner."

Leorio stood stock still for a moment, mouth open and brain working frantically in search of a way out, only to realize he'd trapped himself and the best course of action was simply to accept his fate with a sigh.

"Alright, you win," he said. Kurapika decided to ignore the mumbly and decidedly grumpy " _As usual"_ that followed this pronouncement.

"So… what are we making?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: …I have no excuse for how late this update is. But I swear I'm not gonna abandon this story. Feel free to pelt me with tomatoes if I don't post the remaining couple chapters before the month is up. I'll do my best.

 **Sleepover**

Eventually they fell into a sort of rhythm, with Killua showing up more often than not for meals at the apartment.

It was always at Gon's invitation— not that Kurapika or Leorio would ever discourage it, but Kurapika found it hard to start up a conversation with the silver-haired boy whose eyes were far sharper than any other twelve-year-old he'd met— and sharper in a different way than Gon's. Less bright.

But Killua was a good boy as far as Kurapika could tell, and he managed to be polite despite his gruff nature. He was always watching Gon, always by his side, and for the first few times Kurapika had worried slightly— this dangerous child of unknown origins who had latched on to the joyously clueless Gon like a clamp with unknown intentions. But the more he watched (and watch he did, like a mother hawk, as Leorio liked to jab) the more he noticed how Killua smiled when Gon smiled, how Killua only looked relaxed when Gon was nearby, how Killua had clearly never had a best friend before but dearly wanted and needed one and had found one in Gon.

And then one day Killua had stayed the night. Dinner had been devoured and then cleared away, Kurapika and Leorio each chipped away at their chemistry papers, and Gon halfheartedly attempted some math homework after Kurapika had sent him enough stern glares across the table. Killua helped a bit— he could do the math but wasn't so clear at explaining things in terms that wouldn't cause metaphorical smoke to pour from Gon's ears. Eventually his somewhat bossy and condescending "tutoring" led to a short tussle at the table, which led to a full on wrestling match on the floor in a matter of minutes.

"Enough," Kurapika declared, closing his laptop with a decisive click. "Gon, it's getting late. Shouldn't you be heading to bed soon?" Suggestions from Kurapika were simply commands in disguise.

"Oh… Yeah." Gon broke free of Killua's chokehold and scratched at the back of his head.

"Then, I guess I'll…" Killua began, slowly pushing himself up off the floor. Gon jumped to his feet— and then whipped around to grab a surprised Killua's hand.

"Hey, Killua, I wanna show you something!" He dragged his friend off to Kurapika's room, where Gon was currently storing his few personal belongings.

Kurapika sighed, but with no real discontent behind it, and left his chemistry assignments to set up the couch for Gon. Gon said he could do it himself, but when he did the sheets were crooked and untucked and usually half-off by morning (Gon was a restless sleeper) so Kurapika liked to do it himself. He had just smoothed out the pillow when the relative silence was broken by pounding bare feet down the short apartment corridor and Gon burst into the main room, alone.

"Hey, Kurapika," he said, voice hushed. "Could you— I mean, um— could Killua sleep over?"

Kurapika paused.

"Please?" Gon continued. "He probably doesn't want us to know, but I don't think he has anywhere to stay at night," he whispered. "He—"

"Gon!" Killua's voice rang out from the corridor. "What are you doing?"

Gon looked up at Kurapika with wide, brown doe eyes. "I think it would really make him happy," he said earnestly. "He—"

"Okay," Kurapika said. Gon was very hard to turn down, especially when he employed that doe-eyes tactic… but besides that, Kurapika had no trouble believing that Killua didn't have a place to call home. He'd been wondering himself where Killua stayed when he wasn't with Gon, and had come to the conclusion that it couldn't have been a very nice place— or a place that Killua was eager to get back to.

Of course, the addition of a new, non-rent-paying flatmate wasn't ideal. This apartment was designed for two people, and they'd been managing three. To add a fourth…

But they'd work it out.

Sometimes, Kurapika found, it was better to look at things through Gon's perspective. Rather than thinking of rationale, pros, cons, and worries, simply know: _that person needs help—_ and give it to them.

Gon was bouncing up and down in eager anticipation when Killua entered the room.

"What's up with you?" Killua asked, but Gon was already grabbing him by the arm again, grinning ear to ear as he dragged an exasperated Killua towards the corridor once more.

"Kurapika says you can stay over, isn't that great?" Gon didn't wait for an answer. "We'll have to sleep on the couch, but that's okay, it's actually really comfy. Oh— you can borrow some of my pajamas, too, and I'll grab you a pillow, and—"

"What makes you think I even _want_ to stay over?" Killua asked. His voice was muffled now, through the wall— and Kurapika noticed even Leorio had turned away from his work for a moment to listen in.

There was a brief pause. Kurapika momentarily imagined Gon's happy expression collapsing, excitement drying up. Killua was a good boy, Kurapika had decided, but he wasn't the best at… using tact. And occasionally he was downright cold.

"Killua! Don't be silly, you know sleepovers are really fun, right? Well, I've never had one before but I know they're supposed to be and I really wanna try it out, don't you?"

"Well… I guess. Since you really want to."

Kurapika's mouth twitched into a smile. Of course. This was Gon they were talking about after all. It was impossible to bring him down.

A few minutes later, Gon and Killua returned, pajama-clad and ready for bed, Gon with bright eyes and light steps, and Killua with a lowered gaze and hands awkwardly held at his sides, like he was wishing for his familiar shorts' pockets to bury them in.

Leorio packed up his stuff and retreated to his own room, giving Gon and Killua both a goodnight ruffle of the hair and Kurapika a wry smile.

He knew this wasn't going to be a one-time occurrence, too.

Kurapika cleared away his own schoolwork and came back to the living room to find Gon and Killua arguing over which half of the couch was better.

He gave them a stern look and both climbed in immediately. They laid with heads together at the middle of the couch and feet sticking out at the ends. It was probably better than feet together (kicking had a nasty habit of waking one up)... but then again…

He'd have to consider other options for sleeping arrangements for the future.

"Don't stay up too late talking," he warned them. Gon nodded eagerly, bumping Killua's head and earning a groan of annoyance.

"Sorry, Killua," he whispered.

As was custom, Kurapika came over and tucked Gon's blankets up to his chin. Gon nestled into the blankets, letting out a soft sigh of contentment. Kurapika thought about doing the same to Killua— but decided to take it slow based on the please-get-me-out-of-here look on Killua's face as the boy observed the situation.

"Goodnight, Gon. Goodnight, Killua," Kurapika said, flipping off the light switch and retreating to his room.

And if, as he lay in bed that night, he heard the faint mumblings of conversation echoing from the living room, he didn't find it bothersome. Well, he _would_ have to make sure the two were getting a proper night's rest in future, but just for the moment… the gentle murmur of their voices acted as a balm to his nerves, lulling him into a deep and contented sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: … I'm really, really sorry for ditching this fic for so long. I don't know if this new chap can possibly make up for that inordinately long wait, but here's hoping.

 **Bandages**

"Wow, Killua, doesn't that hurt?"

"Hm?" Killua turned his head, blue eyes blinking, expression blank.

The two of them were taking shelter from the rain under the awning of the local convenience shop, just around the corner from home—well, technically, Kurapika's apartment.

"Your _ankles_ , silly," Gon clarified, surprised that he had to. Red and raw as they were, a layer of skin torn right off by the looks of it, they must've been stinging like crazy. Why wasn't Killua complaining?

His friend glanced down, and blinked again. "Yeah," he said, with perfect nonchalance. "Hurts like hell."

"Ki _llua_." But Gon didn't really have the heart to scold him for language at the moment. He squatted down, leaning in for a closer look. His friend's purple shoes took a shuffling step away. He glanced up.

"I just wanna see how bad it is," he said.

Killua looked determinedly out into the pouring rain and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "It's not even that bad, don't bother."

Gon's nose scrunched up. "But I'm worried!"

Killua's eyes darted down to his for a split second. A sound came out of the back of his throat, barely audible over the pattering of raindrops, but to Gon it sounded like surprise, almost.

He narrowed his eyes. Only one way to find out…

"The thing is, I'm worried, Killua, really worried! Really, really worried!"

Now Killua spared him an annoyed glance. "What are you babbling about now?"

"It's just that I'm so worried about you!"

Killua's expression twitched. Then his pale cheeks flushed abruptly pink. "Shut up, idiot! What the heck are you saying, it's embarrassing!"

Gon just grinned. So maybe, he thought, maybe Killua had never had anyone to worry about him before... but things were different now, Gon would show him. And not just Gon, but Kurapika, and Leorio too. All of them together would definitely worry enough about Killua to make up for all those years in the past he hadn't had anyone.

But on second thought… maybe it was enough if just Gon worried tonight. If Kurapika and Leorio found out about this, it would more likely lead to a scolding than anything, and Gon had the feeling neither he nor Killua were eager for that at the moment.

So he grabbed Killua's arm and dragged him into the shop, door chime ringing above their heads. He smiled brightly over his shoulder. "It's okay, because I'll take care of you!"

Killua tried to worm out of his grip, cursing and sputtering, but Gon held fast, until they stood before the cashier, a kindly neighbourhood grandma who knew them both by name, and Killua had to at least pretend to act civilized.

Gon scoured through both his and Killua's pockets for change, only finding enough to purchase a small bottle of disinfectant. But kind-hearted Mrs. Motonowa provided them with antibacterial cream and bandages free of charge, and even lent them the use of her back room to apply them.

Once the old lady toddled off back to the counter, Gon forced a reluctant Killua to take a seat while he crouched down and fussed over the wounds.

Other than intermittent short, low grumbles which sounded more like an expression of annoyance than pain, Killua kept silent throughout the whole ordeal. It was only when Gon was tucking it the final strip of the gauze he'd wound around Killua's ankle that the boy spoke.

"Hey, Gon…"

"Yeah?" Gon paused, raising his head.

Killua's eyes looked somewhere off to the side. "Why'd you bother?" he asked finally. "I mean, it would've just healed on its own. And it's not like I was complaining about it."

Gon almost wanted to give his friend a nice old-fashioned flick in the forehead, but he restrained himself. "It could've got infected! And besides, I know it was still hurting even if you weren't saying anything about it!"

"Yeah, well that doesn't mean you have to—"

"I was worried, Killua! That's why I had to, okay?"

"Not this again—"

"Because you're my friend, and I care about you!"

A beat.

"What the—Cut it out, won't you! I told you to quit it with that embarrassing stuff!" Now not just Killua's cheeks were flushed—everywhere from his neck to his forehead to his ears were tinted pink. He jumped up from the chair, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and turned sharply towards the exit. Gon hurried to follow.

"Sorry, I can't do that," he said cheerfully.

Killua's head jerked around to pin him with a death glare.

Gon gave an innocent shrug. "It's the truth, so. I can't help it! Guess you'll just have to get used to it."

Something like horror passed over Killua's expression—but Gon was sure it was just a mask the other boy was putting on. Besides the red face and irritated turn of the mouth and glaring eyebrows, there was a glimmer of something in his eyes. Something that made Gon happy and sad at once. Because it wasn't fair that being worried about and cared for should be such a foreign concept to Killua, it wasn't fair that his amazing best friend should be shocked by the very idea of it.

But it also made Gon very happy to be the one to introduce him to this idea, to pound it into him if he had to, because what else were best friends for?

Worrying was all part of the job.


End file.
